Jessica Didia (left) sits in her mom Laurie Steves’s car as she smokes a mixture of crack and fentanyl together on Wednesday, June 9, 2021 in San Francisco, California. Laurie said she wanted to “smack the pipe out of her hands” but was trying to be welcoming to her daughter in the hopes that by creating a space that was non-judgmental she might be able to reach her better.
To save her daughter’s life, Laurie Steves gave up her own. She left a suburb of Seattle with one goal: reaching San Francisco to save Jessica DiDia, the 34-year-old daughter she hadn’t seen in nearly a decade.
Jessica Didia looks at her needle as she shoots crystal meth with friend Rasool (right) on Turk Street on Tuesday, Aug. 24, 2021 in San Francisco, California.
Laurie Steves embraces her daughter Jessica Didia (left) as they meet for the first time in nearly 10 years for lunch at Denny’s on Mission Street on Saturday, June 5, 2021 in San Francisco, California. After many days of looking for Jessica in the Tenderloin neighborhood with no luck, Laurie parked at an intersection where drug dealers are prevalent in the hopes that her daughter would show up to buy drugs. After 20-minutes, Laurie spotted her and jumped out of the car. They talked for the first time in nearly ten years and had lunch together.
Laurie Steves cries out of frustration after several unsuccessful attempts to find her homeless daughter Jessica Didia (not pictured) in the Tenderloin on Monday, May 24, 2021 in San Francisco, California. Laurie’s son Zachary died last December of a drug overdose and her daughter Jessica has been homeless and addicted to drugs in San Francisco for a decade. The death of her son propelled her to try and save her daughter. Laurie packed up her apartment in Port Orchard, Washington and moved to San Francisco with the idea that she would stay there for “as long as it takes” to help Jessica.
Jessica Didia, 34, who is homeless and addicted to fentanyl, sits on her suitcase on Turk Street after smoking crack on Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2021 in San Francisco, California. Her mother Laurie Steves moved to San Francisco for three months to try to help her but ultimately failed.
Laurie Steves puts her head to her hand as she watches an episode of Private Practice where a character on the show has a drug overdose on Monday, Aug. 9, 2021, in San Francisco, California. A photograph of her deceased son Zachary Grelle (left) sits on her bedside table.
Laurie Steves wheels daughter Jessica Didia into Saint Francis hospital on Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2021 in San Francisco, California. Jessica was hit by a car and hurt her knee but never made it beyond the waiting room due to a fight she got into with her mother.
Jessica Didia (left) smokes a cigarette with mom Laurie Steves as they stand on Ellis Street in the Tenderloin on Wednesday, June 9, 2021 in San Francisco, California. This was the second time they had seen one another in nearly 10 years. Their encounters were often tense as Laurie didn’t want to push her daughter away but was also eager to get her off drugs.
Laurie Steves packs up her belongings after deciding to move back to the Seattle area on Monday, Aug. 30, 2021 in San Francisco, California.
Laurie Steves embraces her daughter Jessica Didia (right) before leaving for the Seattle area on Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2021 in San Francisco, California. Laurie had been looking for Jessica for several days to say goodbye and had the good luck of finding her just before departing. Laurie said that she “tried her best” to help her daughter get clean while Jessica felt she was there only to help assuage her own guilt.
Jessica Didia, 34, (center) who is homeless and addicted to fentanyl, smokes crack on Eddy Street on Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2021 in San Francisco, California. Her mother Laurie Steves moved to San Francisco for three months to try to help her but ultimately failed.
Jessica Didia watches as an EMT responds to David Larson who overdosed on drugs at the corner of Eddy and Larkin Streets as people look on on Monday, Feb. 28, 2022 in San Francisco, California. David survived the overdose.
